This has been a good buying week for me. Gallup is both the retail and wholesale mecca for Native American jewelry. I typically make rounds of those places I know well to find new and unique creations, much less frequently I buy directly from the artists. I have been tempted to furnish stones of known origin and quality and ask for specific products from our numerous local smiths, but that creates an obligation to buy hurriedly produced products that might be defective. Cherry picking in the wholesale treasure troves of Gallup best suits me as a retailer at this time.
I am always interested in putting up collector / museum quality pieces and I found two great collaborative creations this week. One was a collaborative bracelet by Pete and Dinah Gaspar (Zuni stone carvers) and master silversmith Gary Reeves. I sold it within hours of my buying it so it will not see the light of my Ebay store. I also bought another very unique collaborative work by an expert and widely known micro in-layer Clayton Tom and the famous silversmith Calvin Begay. Their cosmic necklace creation is a sensation.
I am always interested in putting up collector / museum quality pieces and I found two great collaborative creations this week. One was a collaborative bracelet by Pete and Dinah Gaspar (Zuni stone carvers) and master silversmith Gary Reeves. I sold it within hours of my buying it so it will not see the light of my Ebay store. I also bought another very unique collaborative work by an expert and widely known micro in-layer Clayton Tom and the famous silversmith Calvin Begay. Their cosmic necklace creation is a sensation.
Besides those creations. I bought up a sack full of Calvin Begay necklaces with matching earrings which have proved very popular.
As we settled in for a coffee break at his place of work, I was both pleased and amused when Calvin complained that he didn't have my phone number on my business card that he keeps in his wallet. He pulled it out and I filled in the main number. For such a famous name, he is relatively young and I don't want to lose contact with him.
As we settled in for a coffee break at his place of work, I was both pleased and amused when Calvin complained that he didn't have my phone number on my business card that he keeps in his wallet. He pulled it out and I filled in the main number. For such a famous name, he is relatively young and I don't want to lose contact with him.
